So, today you and I will be interested in social activities. This is a very important moment in the life of any person. It has a huge impact on people's lives. It exists in various forms of manifestation and participates in the formation of personality. What features does social activity have? What it is? Why is it so important? More on all this later. Our question today is extremely important for any person and personality. Therefore, you will have to pay due attention to it.

Definition

To begin with, what are we even talking about? In sociology and psychology, each term has its own definition. It helps you know exactly what the conversation will be about.

These are certain purposeful actions of a person that take into account the needs of others, their preferences and desires within the framework of generally accepted social norms. Of course, your own needs are included here. This is a certain set of actions that is part of your behavior.

Most often, social activity is understood as any action with people. Everything that relates to communication and interaction with each other is usually called this term. Nothing complicated, right?

Need

Social is an integral part of our life. A person always has a need for it from birth. It is this that distinguishes us from animals. But why is this activity so important?

The point is that the fundamental part of it is the satisfaction of one’s own needs, as well as the formation of a person’s personality. Without social activity there would be no personality as a whole.

With the help of this direction, various benefits are created (material and intangible), traditions and customs, norms of behavior arise, and character is formed. The forms of our activities today can be varied. In children and adults they are generally similar, but still have some differences. So what can you encounter in real life?

Economy

For example, adults constantly slip through social and economic activities. Without it, it is impossible to imagine the modern civilized world at all. But what is it?

Socio-economic activity is a set of social and economic institutions in relation to the distribution of certain benefits, as well as funds. We can say that this is the same economy. Nothing difficult, right?

In the course of conducting such activities, not only the redistribution of material wealth occurs, but also the creation of goods, the purchase and sale of them, and the establishment of consumption of resources available to a particular association. The social activity of an organization or in a family is not important, but the fact remains that there is such an orientation, without it it is impossible to imagine modern society.

Culture

Just as you might guess, our today's term includes culture. The creation of cultural values, customs and traditions, norms of behavior and attitudes - all this is related to social activity. We can say that in the modern world we cannot do without all this.

Professional social activities also take place. It manifests itself in a person’s conduct of some specific actions related to culture. For example, work in the theater can be called professional social activity. Often, “professionalism” is precisely expressed in one profession or another.

Creation

Types of social activities can be different. As already mentioned, they are approximately the same in children and adults. More precisely, children usually have fewer of them. But as people age, they become more and more involved in every sphere that can exist.

Another type of our concept today is creativity. Indirectly related to culture. It is expressed in the manifestation of a person’s creative abilities. And it doesn’t matter in which direction. These can be works of fine art, literature, cinematography, poetry, and so on. Most often, creativity helps a person to find himself, gain satisfaction from life, and demonstrate his skills to himself and others.

For children, such social activities are extremely important. It has a huge impact on human growth and development. For this reason, creativity is given great attention in schools and kindergartens.

Work/labor

Adults often have a profession. As a result, there is a certain job that he does every day. And it is also considered a social activity, often professional.

This type of action is characterized by the fulfillment of certain job descriptions in compliance with certain norms and rules for monetary compensation. To be honest, work helps build a career. You will develop and improve your skills - both professional and social. Plus, career growth will be fulfilling (and boost your self-esteem).

Education/science

The social sphere of activity also manifests itself in the form of the educational process - both learning and acquiring knowledge. That is, teachers and students are its direct participants.

This type of interaction is aimed at developing personality, teaching a person certain skills. Without it, it is impossible to imagine either culture, or work, or a civilized society in principle. So, you should not neglect education as a tool for personal development. For children, this form plays a huge role. For adults too, but the significance in this case is not so high.

Communication

Social activity necessarily includes communication. The need for communication is a natural state for humans. Communication, relationships - all this is important both for personal development and for meeting needs.

The social activity of children in this area is manifested, as a rule, in the development of communication skills. Kids learn to speak, communicate, discuss, interact with each other. Without communication, complete personal development will not occur. Therefore, in kindergartens and schools, interaction with each other is given a rather significant place.

A game

Another extremely important social activity, especially for children, is play. It is very often used to teach a child and involve him in the educational process. Promotes the development and formation of the personality as a whole.

Play activity for a child is perhaps the most important thing in life. Without it, it is impossible to imagine a correctly and timely developing baby. Only through this direction does he study the world around him. Of course, there is a social note here too. Games often involve the participation of several people. This is where social interaction with each other comes from. Perhaps, it is this form that plays a huge role in the development of personality in childhood.

Psychology

Social activities (organizations, individuals, societies) play an important role, and not only because they contribute to the development of a person and his skills. Not at all. There is a much more significant point. The point is that social activity shapes human psychology. That is, it has a direct impact on his development and perception of the world around him. Only then are certain values ​​and culture assigned, and communication skills appear. The activity, which is called social, shapes not only psychology, but also the character of a person.

So, even in childhood, this area should be given due attention. We need to communicate more with the child, allow him to learn how to communicate with peers and adults. This is the only way to grow a healthy and mature personality.

Often a child experiences rejection from society. Misanthropy or sociopathy are deviations that are detrimental to social activity. However, all this can be treated. Moreover, sometimes rejection from society will be for the good. But only in moderation. There is no need to panic if you are not in a hurry to adapt, but you should not completely lose sight of this feature either.

Thinking

Sometimes you can come across the statement that thinking is also a type of human social activity. This issue is controversial, but many believe that this is so. So, a somewhat non-standard type of activity is thinking.

Usually it relates only to one person, to the individual, and has a direct impact on the activity as a whole, contributes to the development of logic and various skills of a creative and intellectual nature. It appears in both children and adults. Could also be groupthink. For example, during brainstorming sessions.

Components and properties

Social activity, to be honest, has its own certain components. Without them, it simply does not take place. We have already figured out what kind of term was discussed today, what types there are, what features exist. But nothing was said about the composition of social activities.

Looking at the definition, we can conclude: the main point that a person should have is - Without motivation, direction of action, the social sphere cannot exist. After all, as has already been said, it depends on generally accepted norms, rules, as well as the desires and needs of others (society and the person as a whole).

If there is no goal or motive, then the activity cannot be recognized as such. This fact will have to be accepted. Also, awareness is the most important property that is inherent in social activity. It is expressed in a person’s identification of actions as something independent for himself and society.

Another important property of our today's term is objectivity. And in any manifestation. Not necessarily in the material - feelings, emotions and general state are also an objective manifestation of certain actions.

Another interesting point that can be highlighted in our question today is the duality of perception. As a rule, socially oriented activities are accompanied by both psychological (emotional) and material representation.

Social activity is an integral part of human life, which haunts us from birth. We can say that this is any action that connects people and their needs.

SOCIAL WORK AS A TYPE OF PRACTICAL ACTIVITY

Main aspects of social work as a practical

Activities

The concept of activity is close to the concept of practice and can be separated from it only conditionally, when it is necessary to contrast practice with science as theoretical human activity. Accordingly, two subsystems can be distinguished in the social work system: practical, including professional and non-professional social work, and theoretical- scientific knowledge about social work.

The theory of social work is a field of knowledge about the patterns of organizing and improving social work as a practical activity. The practice of social work, first of all, is a joint activity of subjects and objects of social work to achieve human social well-being.

Professional social work associated with the activities of services and institutions for social protection of the population. It, like other professional occupations, was formed on the basis of the social division of labor. Professional activity is a permanent range of official duties, the implementation of which is based on the totality of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired by a person in the learning process.

Non-professional social work includes various types of voluntary help and support as examples of social practice. Charity, trusteeship, selfless service of a religious and secular nature in all countries were prerequisites for the development of professional social work. Professional and non-professional levels of social work practice are permanent components of the social life of modern societies.

On the one hand, social work practice is aimed at overcoming personal, social, situational difficulties. At the same time, she prefers

Lags awareness people facing difficulties, their essence and meaning, which creates the prerequisites for resolving social and individual problems associated with them. From this point of view, it is a means of constructing society, an object of social design and modeling.

Exercise

Having studied the Law of the Russian Federation “On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations”, adopted on August 11, 1995, determine the essence and goals of charity as the main form of non-professional social work.

Practical activities in social work are aimed both at solving the client’s problems and at interacting with various services, institutions, and organizations that contribute to their solution. Due to the breadth and diversity of these problems, this activity has integrative character, i.e. requires the use of a complex of means and influences in order to ensure the level of life activity determined by the norms of a given society. It includes identifying problems of the individual, group, social layer; regulation of social relations and bringing them into line with the requirements of a civilized society; creating conditions under which the object of activity can independently function in the social sphere; formation of responsibility of both the individual and society for social and individual development, etc. Practical social work thus affects the interests of various sectors of society, its institutions, organizations and citizens.

The forms of social activity are differentiated: thus, according to the criterion of the scale of its subjects, it is customary to distinguish public, collective and individual activity, by method of execution - physical and mental

military activity, and in the sphere of manifestation - economic, political, spiritual, existential and social activity (45. P.23).

From the point of view of social work practice, it is important to distinguish social activities according to the criterion of the relationship between its goals and means. Accordingly, they distinguish reproductive activity, which is aimed at achieving a known goal by known means, and productive activity, developing new goals and means and expressing social creativity. In modern Russia, where social work is, from a professional point of view, an innovative type of activity that arose only 15 years ago, its productive perspective is of particular importance. This does not exclude the importance of reproductive activity, in the field of which the basic technologies and methods of social work function, previously tested in the domestic social protection system and in professional social work of other countries.

Key aspects of social work practice can be revealed through activity-activist approach in modern science (J. Alexander, M. Archer, P. Bourdieu, P. Sztompka, E. Giddens, etc.), which shows how, through the joint activities of actors, the formation and change of a person’s personal qualities, his social roles, as well as development and change of society itself. This approach is one of the main methodological approaches in social work theory.

At the same time, at the micro level of activity in social work, it is important that interactions unfold in the zone of the client’s current interests and capabilities, initiating his activity. Activities at the macro level of social work can be recognized as effective if they are adequate to the social tasks and real capabilities of society, and society, in turn, recognizes the expediency and shows a willingness to develop its basic forms (74. P. 68; 92. P. 7).

Considering content social work practice from the point of view of the most important component of activity - the activity of subjects, researchers identify four of its aspects (see Fig. 1 on page 17).

The first aspect is providing individual assistance to a person or group with problems. Social work, first of all, is associated with the protection of the individual, his rights and interests. This aspect of social work unfolds at the micro level, in the interactions between specialist and client. English researcher S. Ramon notes that the most important task of a social worker is to protect vulnerable people, acting as an intermediary between the client and the state (47. P.8). In modern Russian conditions, this aspect of social work continues to remain very relevant due to the complexities of the process of forming a market economy and its impact on society and the individual.

Second aspect - activating the potential of people with problems for the purpose of self-help. In the process of working together with a specialist to solve a specific problem, the client should have the opportunity to reveal his individuality and realize his abilities. In this regard, it is relevant to create conditions in which people can demonstrate their subjectivity to the maximum extent, independently controlling their own life activities, and learn to make a choice from a variety of options for further development. In particular, clients must develop the ability to be aware of their behavior and act in accordance with changed ideas about the personal and social situation.

The complexity of this task lies in the fact that, on the one hand, its solution requires the involvement of diverse and significant material and spiritual resources. On the other hand, the formation of the client’s subjectivity is limited by the difficulty of overcoming the traditional position for a Russian citizen of a requester for help and a recipient of benefits from the state.

Third aspect social work practice is the implementation preventive (precautionary) activities in the social sphere. The social sphere itself, covering the entire space of human life, in the broadest sense of the word can be recognized as an object of social work. In such

The proactive nature of the activity comes first, because It is preferable to prevent a disease, including a social one, than to eliminate its consequences.

Therefore, in social work it is important to detect in time an imbalance between a person and a group, a person and society and help the client to avoid the occurrence of a problem. To do this, in every sphere of people’s life in the social space, it is necessary to take care of creating normal working conditions, rest, living conditions, medical care, etc., ensuring a positive direction for their socialization.

Fourth aspect - influence on the formation and implementation of state social policy at all levels, with the aim of regulating social relations. This aspect of social work unfolds at its macro level. The idea of ​​responsibility of the state and society for the realization of the needs of each person is fundamental in the theory of social work.

Exercise

For a deeper dive into the nature of social policy, see section 3.4. training manual.

An important aspect of social policy is the task of achieving social harmony in society, which is solved differently in individual countries. Experts point out that in Russia social policy is paternalistic in its ideology and decentralized in its form of implementation. As a result, in many cases, social services are unable to solve the problems of society, and at the same time individuals are unable to cope with life’s difficulties (67. P. 325; 99. P. 13).

Aspects of social work practice

Providing social assistance to individual clients and groups

Activating clients' potential for self-help

Preventive activities in the social sphere

Influence on the formation and implementation of social policy at all levels

Rice. 1. Aspects of social work practice

Aspects of social work practice are closely interrelated - so solution problems of its objects both by the specialist himself and together with the client, inseparable from prevention emergence of social problems. Both of these interdependent tasks, in turn, act as components of the state’s social policy.

From the point of view of the structural components of social work practice, it is distinguished shapes, Related methods And institutions. They are implemented in the main subsystems of the social sphere(health care, social security, education, etc.).

Such a criterion as the novelty of the use of technology allows us to distinguish forms of social work, which are divided into traditional(for example, social work with families, children, adolescents, youth, medical and school social work, etc.); And innovative(for example, social work with refugees and internally displaced persons, in self-help groups, in the home and neighborhood, etc.).

In addition, it is possible to select social support as a form of assistance to able-bodied, active groups of the population who temporarily find themselves in difficult life situations; And social assistance as forms of social

work with the disabled part of the population with low incomes, who do not have the opportunity to overcome life’s difficulties on their own.

Application social work methods is determined by the specifics of the object at which practical activity is directed, and its individual or social problem. The following groups of methods are distinguished:

by forms of social work: economic, legal, administrative and managerial, medical and social, psychological and pedagogical and etc.;

on social work objects: methods of working with a group, in the community, individual work etc.;

by subjects of social work: methods used by a specialist, a social service team, or a governing body etc.

Social work institutes how stable patterns of social practice in this area are divided, first of all, into general And specialized. The former provide social assistance to the entire population, the latter - to certain categories of it (disabled people, families in crisis, participants in modern military operations, etc.). Each of the institutions takes a place in the general structure of interaction, in the space of social work.

Consequently, social work acts as a process of social activity carried out in various subsystems of society. In modern conditions of increasing complexity of society and the emergence of multiple global and local problems, it acquires special importance, making it possible to provide various types of assistance to citizens in need.

Social work

In its own way form social work is system, the main component of which is a person, who is both the subject and the object of social work. Social work is a complex, self-organizing, open system that, like other living systems, interacts with the external environment and exchanges energy, matter and information with it. Thanks to interactions, the system acquires new integrative qualities that are not characteristic of individual elements and change its character and functions.

Fruitful in the study of social work as a whole is systems approach, which involves the identification and synthesis of its structural-functional connections and multi-order interactions.

Exercise

Reveal the essence of the systems approach, based on the knowledge gained in the process of studying mathematics courses and concepts of modern natural science, as well as the material in section 4.2. this tutorial.

Static component social work system is related to its structure and levels.

Researchers call the subject as elements of the structure of social work; an object; goals; facilities; functions; the process of social work itself and the management of this process (49. P. 17; 74. P. 66). Moreover, each of the elements of the structure acts as both a cause and a consequence of the development of its other elements.

Experts note that transformative activities in social

This work is carried out simultaneously at the macro-, meso- and micro levels (47. P. 16; 74. P. 68; 99. P. 11).

At the macro level, social work is aimed at progressive changes in society. This level is characterized as societal-federal, where social work is carried out through a system of social institutions. The state, represented by federal ministries, departments and committees, assumes obligations towards citizens and implements social relations relating to the development of social legislation, regulation of processes of social protection of the population, integration of the work of federal bodies of social infrastructure, etc. The content of social work here is the formation and implementation social policy, aimed at ensuring the social health of society.

At the meso level, i.e. municipal-regional social work is carried out within large social groups and institutions and is associated with the development of a concept for social protection of the population of a territory (region, territory, national republic, municipal district, etc.), as well as with monitoring its implementation. The main focus here is on the interactions of social protection institutions and organizations for the purpose of implementing economic and other assistance to socially vulnerable segments of the population. Their activities are determined by the specifics of the region, city, etc., which forms the priority areas of social work, the features of the implementation of its goals and objectives.

At the micro level, which is individual-group, social work means working with a case assistance to an individual or small group in a difficult life situation. At this level, specialists directly interact with clients, promote their self-development, enhance their potential towards optimal social change, and also influence an individual or group in order to maintain positive social connections.

Adhering to a systematic approach, we can establish that the main factor in the functioning and development of social work at any level is

does not perform social interaction, oriented towards change and development. Many experts see the improvement of interaction between a person and the surrounding social space as one of the most important functions of social work (86. P.85). In its system, it is important to identify various interactions, as well as ways of establishing, maintaining and changing social connections between people, communities and the environment external to them.

Dynamic component social work systems characterize its features as a social process. Process can be defined as a consistent series of actions aimed at achieving certain goals and solving the tasks necessary for this. A series of social phenomena is considered as a process if they occur in a single time, the previous ones determine the subsequent ones, and their result is certain stable states.

From the point of view of the content of the activity, social work can be presented as a process of interaction between subjects and objects of social work. Russian scientist V.A. Nikitin characterizes social work as follows - it is a multifactorial and multilevel process of interaction between people, with its own stages, speed and rhythm (45. P. 28). This process unfolds between the elements of the systems “person-person”, “person-group”, “group-society”, etc. Interactions here act as a means of social construction of society, providing positive social changes, and the necessary assistance in the socialization and re-socialization of its members. A sign of the optimal course of processes in social work should be considered the evolution of social relations of its participants. Consequently, social work has a processual, dialogical, subject-subject principle that unites people in the process of activity through direct and reverse social connections and gives the client the right to participate in solving their problems.

Interactions in the social work system are universal character. Their specificity lies in the fact that when solving social problems

problems directly or indirectly affect all types of social relations and human activities. This integrated and multifunctional type of activity includes many forms and directions, uses various technologies and methods, responding to the diverse needs of its objects. Accordingly, a social worker is required to have knowledge and skills on a wide range of issues in the field of social protection, assistance and social policy.

Specialists solve problems of regulating interpersonal and intergroup relations in a family, organization, neighborhood; correction of deviant behavior; prevention and localization of conflicts; social counseling; social service organizations; social design, etc. In the process of change in the environment of activity, new requirements appear, therefore functions, technologies, forms of social work are constantly updated. At the same time, the universalism of a specific type of help and support has clear subject and spatio-temporal boundaries related to the content of clients’ problems and the social conditions for their solution in society.

The intensity of changes in modern society determines innovative character interactions in the social work system. Modern society, being an independent source of innovation, is in dire need of applying innovation in theory, technology and practice. The role of innovative processes in social work especially increases in a crisis state of society.

Innovation represents a targeted change that introduces relatively stable elements - innovations - into the implementation environment. With the help of innovation processes, which consist in the recognition of an innovative idea and its subsequent implementation in the form of technology in practical activities, it is possible to achieve positive social changes in the development of society and the individual.

Since the process of development of social work in Russia is innovative both in form and content, it is necessary to highlight the conditions that contribute to the success of innovations in this area of ​​activity and leading to increased efficiency of social policy and social protection of the population. The main ones among them are the elaboration of innovation programs, indicating the stages of activity to introduce new things; continuity of the social work process at all its stages; government efforts to support innovation; availability of resources for implementing innovation; innovative attitudes of direct participants in social interactions, etc. (95).

At the same time, it is important that innovative processes in social work are combined with sociocultural traditions of providing assistance in Russia and do not contradict the values ​​and norms of citizens and their established relationships.

Exercise

Based on the knowledge gained during introductory and educational practices, give an example of innovative activities of social work subjects.

A feature of interactions in social work is also their intermediary nature. It is a consequence of the integrity, border-ness of social work in relation to related types of activities, focus on solving the problems of specific people. On the one hand, through his actions, a social worker tries to overcome the individual’s alienation from society and ensure his effective adaptation in the environment; on the other hand, he contributes to the process of humanization of society itself through participation in social policy.

Social work involves both working with the client’s problem and with various government and non-government services, institutions, organizations, and individual professionals to solve this problem. Accordingly, this activity represents not only the interests of a person, but also society, its institutions, and the professional interests of a specialist, the differences between which must be overcome. As an intermediary between a person and the state, a social worker strives to ensure the client’s connection with the systems of society and the state that can provide him with means of exiting a difficult life situation, promotes the effective and coordinated work of these systems, and tries to attract the attention of government authorities to solving pressing social problems.

As a result of establishing and maintaining the necessary contacts with other professionals, mutual exchange of information, technologies, tools, social relationships between clients and client groups, specialists and their services, individuals and the state, etc. are optimized. At the same time, researchers emphasize that in the first place in mediation The activities of a social worker should be to protect the interests and rights of the client (46. P. 11, 74. P. 55-57).

Thanks to the universal, innovative and intermediary nature of interactions in social work, the synthesis of its structural and procedural principles, it becomes possible to ensure the balance and dynamism of systems that carry out social changes in the interests of people.

In social work

Interactions in social work, as in other social systems, are subject to regulation both in terms of the choice of means and methods

actions, and from the side of the goal to which they are directed. The regulation of the means used to achieve a goal is associated with the norms of activity, and the regulation of the goals themselves is associated with its values.

Interactions are the essence of social work from the position of goal-setting and from the point of view of its normative side. They are wearing purposeful nature, Moreover, the target foundations of social work follow from its basic values.

It should be pointed out main goal activities of social work subjects is social changes, allowing the group and individual to satisfy the needs for maintaining and reproducing optimal conditions of existence and development, to realize their potential as human beings, and for society to develop in co-evolutionary unity with nature.

The process of social work is therefore a process of social change. Since social change involves conscious activity to transform social interactions or a social situation (79. P.43), it is important to determine their specific content. Based on the procedural and systemic principles of social work, the following definition can be given.

Social work - This is a type of humanistic activity that includes a wide range of interactions between its subjects, the goal and result of which are social changes that are positive for human life.

Changes occur as a result of the diversified activities of the social worker, aimed at the client and carried out together with him. The leading aspect here is optimization life activity of an active subject in order to overcome a difficult life situation on the basis of assistance and self-help directed by a specialist. So, social change is at the core of the social work process.

In the “Concept for the development of social services for the population in Russia”

Russian Federation” of 1993 and subsequent documents postulating the foundations of social work at the federal and territorial levels, a narrower definition of social work is given, covering only its microsocial aspect. “Social work is a professional activity carried out by professionally trained specialists and their volunteer assistants, aimed at providing individual assistance to a person, family or group of people in difficult life situations, through information, diagnosis, counseling, direct in-kind and financial assistance, care and maintenance sick and lonely, pedagogical and psychological support, orienting those in need of help to their own activity in resolving difficult situations and helping them in this” (81. P. 15). However, even in this definition, the most significant aspect is the aspect of social change, which allows the client to gradually transform from a passive recipient of help into its subject, capable of providing help to himself independently and with the support of a specialist.

The private goals and objectives of social work arising from the main goal are interdependent; they change depending on specific social conditions, the scope of social practice, the nature of the client’s problem, his personal characteristics, etc. Main goals and objectives advocate: integration of social forces (institutions and organizations, interested individuals and social groups) to provide social assistance and adaptation of the individual to a changing society; initiating social work objects to include their actions in the process of social change; search and development of new sources of help, and as a result of changes - achieving a result when the client no longer needs the help of a social worker (15. P. 95; 30. P. 59; 46. P. 178-179).

The expediency of social work necessitates its legal and instrumental support, since the basis of activity is a consciously formulated goal.

Exercise

Describe the goals of social work in more detail by referring to section 3.3.

Norms, indicating the rules of activity in the social work system are embodied in its legal framework. The social work system can function successfully only if it has legal support, i.e. a set of actually and systematically applied legal means, for the implementation of which the state is responsible. Legal means of social work are a system of regulations that ensure the legality of decision-making and the orderliness of the activities of social institutions.

The legal basis for social work in Russia was laid by documents of the 90s. XX century - Constitution of the Russian Federation, Laws of the Russian Federation “On Employment in the Russian Federation” 1991, “On Additional Measures to Protect Motherhood and Childhood” 1992, “On Veterans” 1994, “On Social Services for Elderly and Disabled Citizens” 1995, “On the social protection of disabled people in the Russian Federation” 1995, “On the basics of social services for the population in the Russian Federation” 1995, etc.

During this period it was formed legal field of social work How a system of legal means regulating legal relations between subjects and objects of social work. Legal norms and laws perform supporting, organizing and controlling functions regarding the formation and functioning of social services, regulating the content and principles of their activities. Also within the legal framework, specialists endowed with rights and responsibilities in the field of social protection of the population can act legitimately.

From the point of view of the object of social work, it is customary to divide its legal acts into general social, which are aimed at providing assistance and support to the entire population (for example, the Law of the Russian Federation “On compulsory social insurance against accidents and occupational diseases” of 1998), and address, aimed at protecting a certain social category (for example, the Law of the Russian Federation “On the fundamentals of the system for the prevention of neglect and juvenile delinquency” of 1999). It is also possible to classify normative acts of social work according to the substantive criterion, when they distinguish state-legal, financial-economic and directive-administrative acts.

At the international level, the legal system of social work in Russia is based on regulatory and advisory documents of the world community - declarations, conventions, resolutions of the UN, UNESCO, WHO, etc.

At the federal level, the activities of social workers are based on the Constitution and Codes of the Russian Federation, laws and regulations of domestic importance.

At the level of federal subjects and at the municipal level of subjects, which also have the right of legislative initiative, regulations governing social work in a given territory are adopted taking into account local conditions. They have a limited scope and must not conflict with federal law.

The development of the legal field of social work occurs in two directions: improving legislation, developing and adopting new legal acts that support social work with working citizens, families and children, migrants, the unemployed, the homeless, etc.; ensuring a more complete implementation of existing legal norms. The effectiveness of the legal mechanism for protecting human interests depends not only on state policy, but also on the direct interactions of subjects and objects in the legal field of social work.

Norms can be considered both as incentives for social activity and as rules indicating the means to achieve its goals and solve problems. Such means in social work are its resources.

Exercise

Use the glossary of key terms at the end of this tutorial to explore the relationship between the concepts of values ​​and norms of action.

Social Work Resources- This sources of funds and opportunities that a specialist turns to to solve social problems and meet the needs of clients. TO resources should include material resources, special knowledge and skills, customer motivation, potential of management structures, etc. (55. P. 60).

With the help of resources, appropriate actions are taken, primarily at the micro level of activity, in specific situations of social work. They allow people to successfully adapt to the external environment.

Concept “a person in a social work situation” goes back to her psychodynamic model(F. Hollis, G. Berler, etc.) and determines the condition of people who need help and support from professional social workers through social diagnostics and therapy when solving social problems. In order to improve interaction between people, this model also considers the role of the social environment of social work objects and relationships in society (28. P.4).

From the point of view of means of activity, the assistance of a specialist can concern both the creation of new resources and the activation of existing ones, in order to use them more effectively. Assessing resources, social worker

takes into account the capabilities of society, one’s own professional capabilities and the capabilities of the clients themselves.

Social work resources can be classified on a number of grounds:

in relation to subjects and objects of social work- these are internal and external resources;

according to the form of implementation- these are official and unofficial resources;

if possible, use- these are actually existing and potential resources;

from a system management point of view- these are managed and unmanaged resources;

Society is a sociocultural integrity that exists, functions and develops through man, his activities and interactions.

The concept of “social activity” is one of the central categories of sociology that reveals the essence of social interaction.

The social essence of a person is formed and developed thanks to human activity. In its most general form, activity is defined as a specifically human form of activity, the content of which is the purposeful change and transformation of the surrounding world.

What are the specifics of the activity? The specificity of social activity lies in the fact that it has: firstly, a conscious, purposeful nature. His activity is not programmed like that of animals, whose activity is instinctive. A person does not adapt to the environment, but changes it based on his own goals.

Thanks to goal-setting in his life, a person has his own development history, expressed in culture. History is nothing more than the activity of a person pursuing his goals. Human activity is characterized by a consciously set goal.

Secondly, since human activity is realized by man, it has an ideal form of reflection in human consciousness. After a goal has been set, a person analyzes the situation, ways and means of achieving this goal, and outlines the sequence of his future actions.

Thirdly, human activity reached its completion in a result, which should be distinguished from a goal. The ideal option for human activity is when the planned goals are implemented in practice, i.e., as intended. However, our ideal plans and goals are still objects of activity of our consciousness. They are perfect. In life, in certain conditions of their implementation, they are associated with the specific physical activity of the subject (person), his interaction with the object or subject of activity, and the choice of means. The result of an activity is not identical to our goals.

Fourthly, a person carries out his activities through historically established types and forms of interaction and relationships with other people. Therefore, his activities are not individualized, but standardized. In whatever sphere of life of society the activity is carried out, it will always be not of an individual, but of a social nature. True, not every human activity is social in nature. A person’s actions acquire a social character when it is focused on other people, when it involves direct and indirect interaction with other people.

In general, social activity is a set of socially significant actions carried out by a subject (society, group, individual) in various environments and at various levels of social organization of society, pursuing certain social goals and interests.

The concept of the structure of social activity

The structure of social activity represents two sides, interconnected, which do not exist without each other. The first side is practical, the second is spiritual, each is interconnected with the other. Practical activities are aimed at transforming real objects of nature and society. It includes material and production activities and the creation of wealth. Practical activity is carried out by each person through various types of activities and is associated with the transformation of nature. Practical activity is carried out by people when they transform social relations and society as a whole.

Thus, any person, being active, always performs specific actions, expressed in certain types of activities.

Spiritual activity is associated with spiritual values, ideals, in general, with changing people’s consciousness. Any practical activity is impossible without the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience.

Spiritual activity is closely interconnected with cognitive activity, which exists in various forms: artistic, scientific, religious, ideological, etc. The basis of spiritual activity is cultural values. It is they who shape people’s attitudes towards the phenomena of the surrounding world, contribute to the awareness of good and evil, fair and unfair, and also contribute to the awareness of other values ​​of social life.

Spiritual activity also includes prognostic activity, planning or anticipation of possible changes in reality.

All these activities are interconnected. For example, the implementation of reforms (social transformation activities) should be preceded by an analysis of their possible consequences (forecasting activities).

Based on the above, we can draw the following conclusions on the structure of social activity, which includes: the subject and the object of social activity. The subject is the one who carries out social activity, the object is what or who it is aimed at.

A conscious goal. A goal is a conscious image of an anticipated result towards which social activity is aimed. Before acting, a person sets a goal for himself, so it is always purposeful and rational. A goal is what is presented in the mind and expected as a result of a certain way of directed activity. If the basis of activity is a consciously formulated goal, then the basis of the goal itself lies outside the sphere of activity, beyond its limits - in the sphere of human consciousness, motives, values ​​that guide people in their life activities. Therefore, in the structure of social activity, one can highlight the socially determined nature of the activity (value meaning).

Motives of activity. They are always determined by the needs for the preservation, maintenance and reproduction of human life. The process of activity itself and its result is a produced product, which appears in the form of a produced agricultural product or a written book, etc. The result of social activity can be the transformation of society.

Thus, it is social activity that is the initial condition for the development of essential human forces, the emergence and existence of society, the real driving force of its change and development.

Types of social activities

There are different classifications of activities. Depending on the nature of the relationship to the surrounding world and interaction, social activity is divided into several types.

The most important of them are:

Material-transformative activity (its results are various products of labor: bread, clothing, machines, buildings, structures, etc.);
- cognitive activity (its results are embodied in scientific concepts, theories, discoveries, in the scientific picture of the world, etc.);
- value-orientation (its results are expressed in the system of moral, political and other values ​​existing in society, in the concept of conscience, honor, responsibility, in historical traditions, customs, ideals, etc.);
- communicative, expressed in a person’s communication with other people, in their relationships, in the dogma of cultures, worldviews, political movements, etc.;
artistic, embodied in the creation and corporatization of artistic values ​​- the world of artistic images, styles, forms, etc.;
- sports, which is realized in sports achievements, in physical development and improvement;
- political, carried out in the political sphere of society and associated with the seizure, retention, strengthening and exercise of power, with the protection of the political interests of certain classes, layers, socio-political movements, countries and their coalitions. According to its operational structure, social activity includes several interrelated components. The starting point among them is the level of awareness - a conscious or unconscious action. The second component, which forms the core of activity, is the process of action, i.e. a system of movements aimed at an object with the aim of appropriating or changing it.

Actions performed by a person can be directed not only at objects, but also at the people around them. Then they become an act of behavior - an act (when they are committed in accordance with the moral, legal and other norms existing in society) or an offense (if they contradict them).

In addition, social activities can be divided into constructive and destructive. The results of the first are cities, villages, factories built, books written, treatment and education of children. Destructive activity is manifested in the destruction of everything that is created by human hands: the destruction of temples, homes, wars that destroy the normal life of a person. This activity can be carried out by different people performing many types of activities.

From the point of view of the significance and role of activity in social development, it is very important to divide it into reproductive and productive, or creative. The first of them is associated with obtaining or reproducing an already known result using known methods and means. The second is aimed at developing new goals and new means and methods corresponding to them, or at achieving known goals with the help of new, previously unused means.

Man is an element of an integral system that includes nature (the world of physical objects) and human society. Outside this system, his existence is impossible, since it is here that he finds everything necessary for his condition. Therefore, a person’s social existence presupposes his interaction with the surrounding world of physical objects (natural or man-made objects and phenomena) and with people. It represents a holistic life activity, which can take the form of objective activity (interaction of the “subject - object” type) and communication (interaction of the “subject - subject” type).

An activity is a person’s life aimed at transforming surrounding objects (natural or created by people, material or spiritual). As an example, we can name the professional activities of an engineer, driver, surgeon, agronomist, programmer, etc. Activity is an essential characteristic of a person, that is, without it he cannot become and be such. She is extremely important to him.

1. Human social activity is a tool for satisfying his vital needs. Any need presupposes a certain method of satisfaction, which is a system of special actions and operations aimed at mastering the necessary benefits of life.

2. With the help of activity, the transformation of the surrounding world and the creation of material and spiritual benefits are carried out. Everything that surrounds us is either created by activity or bears its imprint.

3. In the process of social activity, there is a subjective recreation of the surrounding reality and the construction of its subjective model. Any image or thought in its content is nothing more than a subjective analogue of the corresponding object, built on the basis of internal activity: preceptive, mnemonic, mental, etc.

4. Human social activity acts as a tool for human mental development: his thinking, attention, imagination, etc. Research shows that a child who is not involved in full-fledged activities is severely retarded in mental development. In other words, with the help of activity a person transforms not only the world around him, but also himself.

5. Active activity is one of the conditions for the existence of a person as a full-fledged subject and as. Turning him off from activity leads to the gradual destruction of mental functions, abilities, skills and abilities. For example, for this reason, specialists who have not been engaged in professional activities for a long time lose their professional qualifications.

6. activity is one of the means of self-realization of a person as an individual and a tool for finding the meaning of existence. Depriving a person of his favorite activity can lead to a feeling of loss of the meaning of his existence, which is expressed in difficult internal experiences.

The structure of human social activity. Psychological analysis of activity involves identifying the main structural components in it and establishing the nature of the connection between them. These include motive, goal, conditions for achieving the goal, individual activities, actions and operations.

Motive is an internal psychological source of activity. It encourages a person to act and at the same time gives it a reasonable personal meaning (for the sake of which it is performed). Without motive, activity is simply impossible. A person is not always aware of the motives of his activities, but this does not mean that they do not exist. Motive is a constitutive element of activity. That is why, depending on the content of the motive, separate types of activities are distinguished. For example, gaming activity is a gaming motive, educational activity is an educational motive, etc.

A goal is a mental or figurative representation of the final or intermediate result of an activity. For example, a turner turning a part on a machine already imagines it in his mind. And this is typical for any activity. Thanks to the goal, activities become orderly and predictable. It seems to concentrate all human efforts and resources in one direction. Without a goal, as well as without a motive, activity is impossible; it turns into a disordered set of individual movements and behavioral acts. Holistic activity consists of a system of individual, relatively independent actions, arranged in a certain time sequence. And all together they lead to the achievement of the goal of all activities. For example, even such a simple and familiar activity as satisfying a food need includes many separate actions: visiting a store, buying groceries, cooking, setting the table, eating, etc.

An action is an element or stage of activity aimed at achieving a separate independent goal. An action is such only if it has a goal. The latter acts as a fundamental feature (property) of an action, therefore a psychological analysis of an action involves characterizing its goal.

The same action can have different motives. However, when the goal changes, the action becomes different in content and essence, even if its motive remains. An action is considered successful and complete when the goal is achieved. During this process, it is objectified (objectified) in the corresponding product or result of an action, that is, what was previously a subjective image now becomes an objective reality.

The implementation of any action is carried out in the context of some objective and subjective factors (circumstances) related to achieving the goal. They are called the conditions for achieving the goal. Conditions may be favorable or unfavorable from the subject's point of view. However, in any case, he must know them well and take them into account when constructing his action. The subject's idea of ​​the conditions for performing an action is called its indicative basis. Depending on the conditions, the methods for carrying out the action are determined. They are called operations. For example, the methods of preparing for the exam will depend on the following circumstances: the volume and complexity of the material, the presence or absence of notes, how successfully and systematically the student studied throughout the semester, whether he has the appropriate abilities, what grade he is applying for, how strict and demanding the teacher is etc. It is these circumstances that will influence the choice of preparation methods: whether it will take place at home or in the library, how much time it will take, whether additional consultations will be needed on some issues, etc.

The same action can be performed using different operations. The success of achieving a goal will depend on how well and completely the subject is oriented in the relevant conditions and how adequate the methods of performing the action chosen by him are. Depending on this, they can be reasonable or unreasonable. A person is not always aware of operations. When performing ordinary and simple actions, operations seem unconscious. They are called automatisms. For example, operations such as writing letters when writing are almost always unconscious. To understand such operations, it is necessary that certain difficulties arise when performing them.

In conclusion, we note that the relationships between the structural components of activity are very dynamic. Under certain conditions they can transform into each other. For example, an action can turn into an independent activity if it itself becomes attractive to a person, that is, it acquires motivational properties. As an action is performed repeatedly, becomes automated, and loses its purpose, it becomes an operation within another action. When deautomated, an operation can become a goal-directed action.

Properties of human activity. The most essential properties of activity include activity, purposefulness, the ability to creatively transform the surrounding reality, instrumentality, awareness, objectivity, duality of form, the ability to develop, the ability to generate mental (spiritual) formations, and sociality.

Human social activity is not a system of reactions to external stimuli, but an initially active process. The sources of this activity are not outside, but inside a person. These are needs and motives. They not only encourage activity, but also act as sources of energy necessary to carry out the activity. It is through activity that the subject comes into real contact with the surrounding world and obtains the conditions necessary for its existence.

Human activity is always subordinated to a specific goal, which sets its direction quite clearly, subordinates and organizes its constituent actions, movements and operations, making it stable and supra-situational. This differs from the behavior of animals, which, as noted earlier, is characterized by impulsiveness and increased dependence on a specific situation (situationalism). This property of activity contradicts the well-known law of physical determinism. Science still does not understand how a goal, as a subjective and non-physical formation, affects real practical activity that has signs of a physical phenomenon.

In the process of human social activity, a creative transformation of the surrounding reality occurs in accordance with the needs, motives and goals of a person. He does not so much adapt to reality as adapt it for himself. This distinguishes human activity from animal behavior, which is exclusively adaptive in nature. Modern man lives not in a natural, but in an artificial world created by himself. Even nature bears the mark of anthropogenic influence. To transform the objects of his activity, a person uses not only his own natural (individual) organs (arms, fingers, legs, torso, etc.), but also specially made tools or implements. Therefore, human activity is not direct, but indirect, instrumental, which also distinguishes it from the behavior of animals.

One of the most important properties of social activity is awareness. It is expressed in a person’s ability to subjectively distinguish the activity he performs as something relatively independent and separate from himself as a subject and from the object to which it is directed. At a high level of development of activity, the subject is aware of its motives, components of actions, conditions and operations. Thanks to awareness, activity becomes voluntary and volitional.

The next important property of activity is objectivity. It lies in the peculiar sensitivity of activity to its object and in the ability to obey and become likened to its properties and characteristics. Thanks to this property, activity recreates them in itself. This manifests itself well in any objective actions. For example, when a person picks up an object, the form and nature of the action, as well as the movements included in it, reproduce the shape, size, weight, material and other properties of this object. The characteristics of the action will be different depending on how it turns out: light or heavy, voluminous or flat, slippery or rough, hot or cool, etc. When performing this or that activity, a person moves towards the intended goal not blindly or straightforwardly, but very intelligently and flexibly. With each of his actions, he seems to probe the objective reality, correlates with it and recreates it. This is especially evident when mastering new actions or when performing activities in unusual and unfamiliar conditions.

An essential and rather mysterious property of human social activity is the initial duality of its form. It appears to be both an external physical and internal mental process, and an objective and subjective phenomenon. From the outside, it looks like a process of real physical interaction between a subject and a physical object. In this case, a person, using his body (arms, legs, torso) as a natural physical tool, as well as other necessary tools and instruments, carries out a physical transformation of the object and receives some material product that corresponds to the original plan. For example, a tailor sews a suit from fabric, a cook prepares a dish from ingredients, a designer decorates a hall, etc.

As a physical process, activity consists of specific practical actions and movements performed in a certain space and time, that is, it has spatio-temporal coordinates and is completely accessible to perception. In this regard, it is not much different from many natural phenomena and processes: chemical reactions, plant development, boiling water, etc.

However, every activity also has an internal side, hidden from external observation, without which it ceases to be such. For example, it cannot exist and be implemented without motive and purpose, which seem to be purely mental phenomena that form the inner subjective (mental) world of a person. When performing complex and vital activities, the need arises for many other internal mental components: emotional experiences, thoughts, volitional effort, assessment of one’s capabilities, knowledge, etc. Moreover, their presence becomes simply obvious. In order to be convinced of this, it is enough to recall a few examples from your own life experience. We can say that the entire mental life of a person - his psyche, is an internal component of his activity, his social existence. It should be emphasized that internal components do not simply accompany the external side of the activity, but appear to be functionally necessary for it. Without them, its existence is simply impossible. In this regard, activity does not have any physical characteristics and specific spatiotemporal coordinates, that is, its ontological nature and location are unclear.

Activity is a holistic process that combines external physical (objective) and internal mental (subjective) components in an inextricable unity. In essence, they seem completely different and incompatible. Modern science still cannot explain the psychological nature and mechanism of their connection. External and internal components of activity have functional specialization. On the basis of external components, real contacts of a person with objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, their transformation, recreation of their properties, as well as the generation and development of mental (subjective) phenomena are carried out. Internal components of activity perform the functions of motivation, goal setting, planning, orientation (cognition), decision making, regulation, control and evaluation.

In real activities, the ratio of internal and external components may be different. Depending on this, two types of activity are distinguished: external (practical) and internal (mental). An example of external activity is any physical labor. Learning activities are an example of internal activities. However, we are talking only about the relative predominance of certain components. In their “pure” form, their existence in humans is impossible. However, we assume that under certain circumstances, in particular after the physical death of a person, the internal (mental) components of activity are capable of independent existence. At least, there are no facts contradicting this assumption.

Human activity has the ability to develop. It is expressed in the fact that with exercise and training, the activity becomes more perfect, the time it takes to complete it decreases, energy costs are reduced, the structure is transformed, the number of erroneous actions is reduced, their sequence and optimality change. At the same time, there is a change in the ratio of external and internal components of activity: external components are reduced and reduced while the share of internal components increases. There is a kind of transformation of activity in form. From external, practical and expanded in time and space, it becomes internal, mental and abbreviated (collapsed). This process in psychology is called internalization. This is exactly how the psyche is generated and developed - on the basis of the transformation of activity. However, internal activity is only a component of holistic activity, its side. Therefore, it is easily transformed and expressed in external components. The transition of internal components of activity to external ones is called exteriorization. This process is an integral attribute of any practical activity. For example, a thought, as a mental formation, can easily be transformed into practical action. Thanks to exteriorization, we can observe through the external components of activity any mental phenomena (processes, properties, state): intentions, goals, motives, various cognitive processes, emotional experiences, character traits, etc. But for this you need to have a very high level of psychological culture.

In its origin and essence, activity is not an innate, but an educated function of a person. In other words, he does not receive it as a given according to the laws of genetics, but masters it in the process of training and upbringing. All human (not individual) forms of behavior are social in origin. The child does not invent them, but assimilates them. Under the guidance of adults, he learns to use objects, behave correctly in certain life situations, satisfy his own in a socially accepted way, etc. It is in the course of mastering various things that he himself develops as a subject and as a person. The sociality of objective activity is also expressed in functional terms. When performing it, a person directly or indirectly relates to other people who act as its creators and accomplices. This can be seen especially clearly and clearly in conditions of joint activity, where the functions of its participants are distributed in a certain way. Considering that in objective activity another person is always co-present, it can be called co-activity.

Social activities- regularly repeated intervention of individuals or groups of people (subjects of activity) in social processes (objects of activity) in order to change and subordinate them to their interests. This is a form of active interaction between a person and the social environment, consciously aimed at transforming the external conditions of his existence, as well as changing the views, worldview, and value orientations of the people around him.

Subjects of social activity are performers of specific actions. Among them may be: individuals; social groups; social organizations and social institutions.

Objects of social activity in this context are nothing more than social processes at all structural levels of the functioning of society.

Social activity consists of specific social actions (actions, actions, steps), organized (intentionally) or spontaneously (spontaneously) carried out by people with the desire to cause certain social consequences (results). In other words, social actions can be carried out by individuals or groups of people intentionally, purposefully or, conversely, spontaneously, under the influence of random circumstances.

Action must be distinguished from behavior. Behavior is a set of actions performed by an individual. When determining, say, the behavior of a schoolchild, the teacher gives a generalized assessment of the actions (actions) he has performed. In other words, actions characterize the behavior of an individual.

Social interaction, or interaction, involves the regular influence of individuals on each other, as a result of which new social connections are renewed and created within communities or between its elements. Social interaction involves at least two subjects, called interactants. Their interactive actions must certainly be directed towards each other.

The variety of forms of social interaction is largely determined by the variety of social connections between the subjects of interaction.

Social connections- this is the interdependence of individuals on each other, formed in the process of joint activity. Social connections can manifest themselves as social contacts (a short-term, shallow connection) or as social relationships (a complex system of social interaction, when the behavior of some causes the activities of others).

Social relations- these are stable, indirect forms of social interaction that develop within the framework of the activities of social communities and social institutions.

Social relations differ in their composition and nature of connections:

Between individuals, for example, love, enmity, exchange of goods or services, joint labor activity;

Between groups (classes, ethnic groups, social institutions and other communities) regarding the same or opposing interests, often related to the distribution of the results of social labor. Social relationships differ from simple interaction in that they are perceived by individuals as long-term, repeated, and, therefore, stable.